Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Cathedral Basilica
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Ruth Cunningham
Marsha Genensky
Susan Hellauer
Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek
On Yoolis Night: Medieval English Carols & Motets
Hymn: Vox clara, ecce, intonat
Motet: Balaam de quo vaticinans/[Ballam]
Song: Gabriel, fram heven-king
Conductus: Ave Maria gracia plena
Carol: Lullay, Lullay: Als I lay on Yoolis night
Carol: Alleluya: A nywe werk
Carol: Lullay I saw a swete semly syght
Sequence: O ceteris preamabilis
Carol: Ther is no rose of swych vertu
Ballad-carol: Lullay my child – This ender nithgt
Song: Edi be thu heven quene
Song: Salve virgo virginum
Conductus: Ave Maria salus hominum
Carol: Ave Maria
Song: Peperit Virgo
Song: Qui creavit celum (“Song of the Nuns of Chester”)
Carol: Ecce quod natura
Carol: Now may we syngyn
Antiphon: Hodie Christus natus est
Notes to the Program
During the high Middle Ages, Christian Europe was swept up in a wave of passionate adoration of the virgin Mary. If we may judge by surviving sources of sacred music and poetry, nowhere was her cult stronger than in the British Isles, where Ladymasses and other special votive services were said and sung daily in churches large and small. The English adored the “spotless rose,” virgin both before and after bearing Jesus; and the central event in her life, the Nativity, fascinated them almost as much as did Mary herself. The topics of the incarnation, the virgin birth, and Jesus’ humble origins occur so often in medieval English song and poetry that it sometimes seems as if it were the English who gave form and substance to the celebration of Christmas.
The Program
We have chosen a program of plainchant, songs, motets, and carols for Christmas from English sources of the 13th through 15th centuries. These works illuminate all of the aspects of the Christmas story and its many kindred legends: biblical precursors, Balaam’s prophecy, Gabriel’s greeting, Mary’s virginity, the birth of Jesus, the rising of the star, the angels and the shepherds, the manger and its animals, the virgin mother’s lullaby, the three Magi and their gifts. And these works express a range of responses to these marvels: mirth and joy, wonder and praise, and even theological exegesis. But the thread that ties this music together is a striving toward something out of the ordinary, a special sound or gesture, reserved for this most wonderful time.
The Music
The plainchant hymn and antiphon are taken from a 13th-century Antiphoner (collection of chants for the Divine Office) from Worcester. The striking, fanfare-like opening of the hymn Vox clara, ecce, intonat is perfectly attuned to its Advent theme, recalling John the Baptist’s proclamation that he was “a voice crying in the wilderness.” Hodie christus natus est is the Magnificat antiphon for Vespers of Christmas Day: the feast is drawing to a close, but this antiphon reaffirms the miraculous events. Between plainchant and song is the early 15th-century Song of the Nuns of Chester (Qui creavit celum), a carol-like lullaby hymn that was used in an advent procession.
The medieval English motet, based on a pre-existing foundation or tenor part, usually declaims multiple texts simultaneously. The motet Balaam de quo vaticinans/ [Ballam] is unusual in that jolly rondellus (voice exchange) sections are superimposed on the basic motet structure. In contrast, in Ave Maria salus hominum, a perfect example of medieval English conductus, all voice parts are freely composed and the same text is declaimed simultaneously in all parts. It seems fitting that both pieces praise Mary, a woman whose humble simplicity was to be so greatly elevated and adorned.
Two of the works we call songs have strong popular connections and were apparently widely known. In “The Miller’s Tale” from the 14th-century Canterbury Tales, Chaucer describes Nicolas, Clerk of Oxenford, as a fine musician, sweetly playing Angelus ad virginem on his psaltery. Gabriel, fram heven-king is an English-language version of this 13th-century work. The poem Peperit virgo, from the 14th-century Red Book of Ossory, is meant to be sung to the tune of the secular songs Mayde in the moore lay and Brid one breere. No doubt realizing that these elegant love songs would not be repressed, and wishing to turn the minds of his musical monks toward more spiritual thoughts, the Irish Franciscan abbot Richard de Ledrede composed a new Nativity text in gentle praise of Mary.
Though they all follow a basic structure of burden (refrain) alternating with a number of verses, the carols included here are varied and individual in expression Lullay, lullay: Als I lay on Yoolis Night and Lullay my child – This ender nithgt are ballad-like lullaby carols of the 14th and 15th century. Dating from the early 15th century, the other carols vary between two- and three-voice texture. The two-voice sections of these pieces sometimes lend themselves to fauxbourdon, an improvisatory technique in which a third harmonizing voice is added between two written outer voices, creating a rich triadic harmony. We have used fauxbourdon in the carols Ther is no rose of swych vertu, Ave Maria, Now may we syngen and Ecce quod natura. This last carol survives in multiple versions; our performance of it combines two of these, one quite simple, and one more elaborate.
♦♦♦
The music in this program spans hundreds of years, from the early medieval antiphon Hodie Christus natus est, to the polyphonic carols of the 15th century. The styles and textures vary greatly; the texts speak with many voices. But despite all the technical diversity, we sense a common purpose in these works. As if in response to the quiet force of a supernatural moment, when the paths of humanity and divinity meet, the anonymous composers marked each piece with some special characteristic, making each a universe in itself, and making each a unique artistic response to the Christmas story.
SUSAN HELLAUER
Anonymous 4 is represented by Alliance Artist Management & records exclusively for harmonia mundi usa.